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My sister and I are intending to do the ABC trek in early March next year. I have approached a few trekking companies, but it seems as though booking the trek with just the to of us us the way to go, rather than being part of a bigger group. My sister and I enjoy each others company but we'd like to be able to talk to and meet other people- are we going to be able to do this on our trek or do people kind of stick to themselves? I guess what I'm saying is that we don't want to spend 12 days or so just talking to each other....

I agree that point go to trekking rather than group. Because you can decide shortly where ever you want to stop and stay overnight... You will not be alone { to talk if you hire a guide/porter} and also visit other group to whom you can talk with, on the trail, stop place/lodge..

“Group Trekking” isn’t the normal thing in Nepal, although some agencies do advertise “Fixed date departures”, the reality is that unless sufficient trekkers sign up, these either don’t depart, or sometimes end up as a group of one or two.

Normal practice is either to just hire your own trekking staff, or put a group together yourself by placing adverts for trekking partners on sites such as this. By doing this, you are in charge of your trekking schedule, where you stay and where, when and what you eat – Also by dong this you can save a lot of money as compared with joining a group.

You will meet plenty of other trekkers on the trail and in the lodges in the evenings – So that won’t be a problem.

We went by ourselves and found lots of people to talk to,except at MBC when we had the hut to ourselves but the staff were very entertaining!!Rob has the best philosophy The best people you meet are on the hill.

As above, there are several ways of going trekking in Nepal. Many first time westerners use the big organised groups like Exodus or Peregrine, but I think that is often because they have limited time to do much research, and may have used such companies for all inclusive, package type holidays in other parts of the world, and so they stick with a "known" outfit. This method of trekking does not appeal to me at all, not least because the groups I have seen tend to be large (sometimes up to 20 people) which requires tight organisation including quite a controlled itinerary (when and where you stop, start, rest, eat, sleep etc etc).

It is quite possible to trek independently in many areas (I did my first 6 treks in Nepal this way), or with local companies that can put together more bespoke, flexible treks. For my last 5 treks, which were all quite long, I hired my guide (or his brother) on a "daily rate" basis - this essentially gives me the freedom and flexibility of an indy trekker (I am very independent), but the benefits of a guide (not least because I was trekking in the winter when the trails can be very quiet, and doing high passes, so trekking solo then would be very unwise, IMV). I get on very well with both my guides, and quite a few regular visitors to Nepal have formed strong relationships with the guides they trek with - I have stayed 3 times so far in my guides' non tourist village, which I have found fascinating.

You can get staff on a "daily rate" basis either through the agencies or by recommendation. With this style of trekking I choose and pay all my own lodge food, room and drink costs (so no tension about budgets), and we just set a rough itinerary and then chop and change, within reason, as we trek.

I think they key is to select a style of trekking that best suits you, after all its your trek, not mine or someone else's.

ABC is quite a popular trek, and there should be quite a few other trekkers around, especially in March, so the social side in the evenings should be fine. I think that trekking indy style or in a small group makes it easier to socialise with others - from what I have observed, the large groups tend to keep themselves to themselves.

Edited: 05 December 2013, 23:24

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9.
Re: Why should I do a trek without a group?

7 Dec 2014, 11:48 AM

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